• Published 19th Nov 2012
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Trapped - Gylden Glor



Without that precious program in this simuation, I find myself trapped.

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The First Funeral

I sit in respectful silence as Twilight stands, and begins to speak.

"Spike...Spike was not only my friend, but...He...He was my son," Twilight says, her voice escalating an octave as she says "son". She chokes on her words for a moment before continuing. "And...Nothing will ever replace him. But I hope that one day...We may all move on, as that is what he would want. He...He wouldn't want us to linger, but he wouldn't want to forget. And we should never forget him..."

Twilight nods, and sits down, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. I stand, and walk to the front, my words ready and my tongue limber.

"Today, we do not only mourn the loss of a friend. We do not only mourn the loss of a family member. But, rather, we mourn the loss of something greater. We mourn the loss of innocence. Of our innocence, and of the personification of innocence. We mourn the loss of youth. And while we may weep for Spike, we should not weep for the dead. Rather, we should weep for the living, as they are the ones who can still feel pain."

With that, I walk back to my seat. After a few moments of nopony stepping up to speak, Celestia comes forward, her horn ablaze with a magnificent light. Spike's casket descends into the earth of the Canterlot graveyard, and the bagpipes to the side begin to play.

We all rise, and walk forward. There are ponies from Ponyville who happened to know Spike and Twilight, as well as ponies from Canterlot. Twilight and her parents are together in the crowd, and I already know what she's going to tell us.

As we walk towards the casket that is now being lowered, we place roses upon the gravestone. This funeral is very elaborate, in that it is both a burial, a wake, and the traditional funeral. Rarity places a heart gem on the plaque, and Celestia uses magic to ensure that it shall never be removed, even by the most petty of thieves. As it becomes one with the rock, Rarity begins to cry, and I move forward to place my rose on Spike's grave.

Rainbow Dash sits by me, now lacking of a rose. I grasp her hoof, and she doesn't fight it, despite us being in public. The cyan Pegasus sighs, and leans against me, letting her mind wander as she contemplates the meaning of death.

After everypony has placed their roses, the dirt covers the grave, and a single, beautiful flower sprouts up from the earth, surrounded by a yellow aura. It seems to glisten with the euphoria of day, while it also hums with the mysterious beauty of night.

Luna steps away from Celestia's side, and hugs Twilight. A somewhat surprising gesture, but one that Twilight welcomes.

After a short amount of time, ponies begin to file out, and, eventually, the only ones left are Celestia, Twilight, her five friends, and I.

"Thank you for staying," Celestia says, rather somberly. "It may come as a surprise, but I need you all to stay here. You cannot return to Ponyville."

Gasps and utterances are spread throughout the six of them. I, however, remain silent.

"What about mah family?" Applejack demands.

"They will be brought here," Celestia responds. "And they will stay with you. All of you will share private guest chambers."

"But why?" Rainbow Dash cuts across, confusion and anger clear in her voice. "Why do we have to stay here?"

"Because whatever it is that killed Spike puts your lives in danger," Celestia says. I can see Twilight cringe at the mention of the sensitive topic. "And we cannot afford to lose any of you. You are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony...And my close friends."

I nod. "Alright. I'll get your things, guys. This thing doesn't want to kill me, so I'll be safe."

"How do you know?" Rainbow demands.

"It told me." I can see obvious confusion amongst the faces of the ponies, even Celestia's. "It told me that it wants to feed upon my fear, and my pain. And it said it would kill you guys to do so."

"Even more of a reason for them to stay here," Celestia says with a morbid frown. The ponies around me visibly shudder, and I can tell that they are truly horrified of what the future holds. "If it is coming after them, then their lives are in definite danger."

I nod with a sigh.

"We need to start experimentation on the stuff left behind in Twilight's lab," I tell Celestia. "Find out what it's made of, and see if we can make a biological weapon against it. Because I doubt the Elements of Harmony will provide much assistance in this battle. I'll need organic samples of it, so that I can classify it. It's most likely parasitic. I'll need to-"

"Peter, please, stop," Twilight whimpers. "How could you be so cold about the death of a friend? You should be mourning with us right now, not trying to fight this thing..."

"If I don't, it will kill you," I stress. "And besides, I barely even knew him. I'd mourn him if he were my friend, but seeing as how all I knew about him was his name and that he was a dragon, I can't say that I'll be shedding any tears into my pillow tonight."

I can feel the shudder that passes through each of the ponies surrounding me.

"Yer' a monster," Applejack mutters. "How could'ya jus' go on like nothin's happened?"

"I'm used to this. All humans are. It's our personal skill to be able to move on from death, and to hide our emotions behind masks."

"That's not good," Fluttershy whispers. The fact that she's actually speaking takes me by surprise, as her silence has been exponentially increased by Spike's death. "You shouldn't hide your emotions, Peter. You should let them out..."

"That's more difficult for me than you'd think," I tell her. "I barely even show my emotions to my own family. Besides, if you lived in a world like I lived in, it would be second nature for you. But that's not the point right now...It's getting late. We should get some sleep...it's been a long day. For all of us."

As if to prove my point, Applejack finds herself overtaken by a sudden yawn, and I can't help but give a small smile as she agrees with a nod.

"Yes," Twilight says, softly and silently. "Let's...Let's go get some sleep...Please...I....I don't want to be here anymore. Too many memories..."

I nod, and so does Celestia. "Follow me," Celestia says softly, before walking off. We all follow her, silently trotting and walking along, our feet and hooves making soft clicks on the palace floor as we enter through the large, ornate door.

We quickly arrive at the guest chambers, and we all file in. It's rather roomy, and it would be enough to store the entirety of the Apple Family.

"Applejack, Rarity, your family members will be brought up from Ponyville shortly," Celestia says softly, before turning to leave.

"Wait!" Fluttershy calls. "What about our pets? Angel, Gummy, Tank, Opal...What about them?"

"They will come, as well."

"And Scootaloo?" Rainbow Dash steps forward, a defiant expression on her face.

"She shall be-"

"And the mayor?"

Celestia blinks. "Well, I'll have to-"

"And the Cakes?"

Celestia frowns. "Rainbow, I'm afraid that there's-"

"And the spa sisters? And Derpy Hooves? And Zecora? And the doctors? And the hard-working, innocent ponies in Ponyville? Aren't you going to protect them, too? Or are we here only because we bear the Elements of Harmony, and you need us to keep power?"

I cringe as Rainbow Dash accuses Celestia. She has a point, as the majority of monarchs will protect selective members of society for the sole purpose of protecting their position as the leader.

"Yes, they're being protected," Celestia responds, rather heatedly. "We have guards there now. How dare you accuse me of leaving my subjects unattended to when they are at risk?"

"Well, I...I just assumed," Rainbow stammers.

"Exactly. You assumed," Celestia hisses. "I understand that you care for your friends, but you must know that I would never leave them at risk. They will be safe, Rainbow Dash. But I cannot risk you staying in Ponyville. Especially since we do not know what this thing can do. It may be able to possess ponies, or even the deceased for all we know. But what we do know is that it poses a threat towards you, and we can't have that."

Rainbow frowns, but says no more. I can tell that she's still fuming about leaving all the other ponies down in Ponyville.

"Get some sleep, all of you. And Peter, come see me first thing in the morning. We have much to discuss."

I nod, and she leaves without another word. We collectively sigh, and Rainbow Dash begins to vent.

"I can't believe she's just going to let them stay in Ponyville!" She cries out. "This is such bull? They're all in danger!!"

"Rainbow, she knows what she's doing," I say, softly. "Have some faith."

"I'm going to sleep," Twilight announces. "If any of you need anything...Just...Ask somepony else..."

I frown as she retreats to a bed, and flops down on it with a hefty sigh. She almost immediately begins sobbing, and magically draws curtains surrounding her bed shut. She obviously wants some privacy.

"Ah'm goin' t' get some sleep, too," Applejack declares. "When Big Mac, Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Winona get here, wake me up if, Ah'm asleep."

Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie say likewise.

However, Rainbow Dash parks herself next to the door.

"I'm not moving until they get here," Rainbow Dash says. "I don't care if I stay up all night. I don't get how they can sleep when everypony is in danger..."

"They trust Celestia," I tell her. "They know she'll get them here, safe and sound."

"Yeah, well, I don't," Rainbow mutters. "Not until they get here."

I sigh, and rest a hand on her shoulder. "You sure you don't want to go to bed?" I ask softly.

"Yes, I'm sure," she spits back. "I'm not tired. I'm just...worried."

"Then I'll stay up with you," I announce, crossing my legs as I park myself right next to her. "And I won't go to sleep until you do."

"Thanks, but it's not necessary," she responds, frowning to herself. "I can handle this on my own."

I throw an arm around her, and kiss her, softly and gently. She's surprised at first, but she relaxes after a second. "Well, I'm not going to let you," I tell her. "You're my girlfriend, and I'll be damned if I let you stay awake and worry by yourself."

"You should get some sleep," she tells me, pushing me away lightly.

"Fuck you," I whisper as I pull her towards myself. "I'm staying right here, and I won't go to bed until you do."

She smiles up at me, and snuggles against me. "Thanks..." She whispers.

As we sit there, waiting, we share small bursts of conversation. We occasionally share small chuckles, but they're almost immediately smothered by the somber atmosphere of the room.

It's after about a half hour that Rainbow Dash starts getting unfocused. She's clearly tired, and the way she continuously slumps against me, her head resting on my shoulder, suggest that she's about to fall asleep.

"You're starting to fall asleep," I whisper to her. "Do you wanna go to bed?"

The cyan Pegasus simply shakes her head "no," seemingly too tired to form words.

"I'll wake you if you fall asleep," I whisper as I kiss her on the forehead.

"Thanks..." She whispers, the silence of the room snuffing out her whispers.

I smile, and absent-mindedly stroke her main, passing my palm across her prism of hair.

Just as I feel fatigue creeping up on me, the door opens, and five ponies walk in: Big Mac, Granny Smith, and the three Cutie Mark Crusaders, who are asleep on Big Mac's back.

Big Mac places a basket down, and I notice that it contains different pets. I look down at Rainbow Dash, and see that she's fallen asleep.

"Rainbow," I whisper as I shake her awake.

The cyan Pegasus opens her eyes, and smiles.

"Good," she whispers.

"Granny, there y' are," I hear a hushed voice say. "An' Big Mac. An' the three Cutie Mark Crusaders. How was the ride up here?"

"How long as Applejack been awake?" Rainbow asks sleepily. I shrug, and help her up as I walk over to greet the newly arrived ponies.

"Oh, it was quite alright, dear," Granny responds. "Now, where's that young man, Peter. I do hope he's okay, he was such a gentleman..."

"Hello, Granny," I say as I walk forward. "I'm fine. How're you guys? Everything okay back at Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Eeeeeyup," Big Mac whispers. I nod, and help him with the ponies on his back. I gently lift them, and place them, together, in one of the twenty beds.

Yeah, there are twenty beds. What if a whole group of delegates comes? They wouldn't share the same bed.

"They're tucked in," I say as I come back for the pets. I put them each in different baskets, each of which are right near one of the pony's beds. I make sure to put Owoloscus on a perch by Twilight's curtained bed. I gently place Winona next to Apple Bloom's side of the bed. As I do, Rainbow Dash comes over, and smiles down at Scootaloo. "Sweet dreams, bucko..." She whispers. It seems as though a wave of relief has washed over her as she looks up at me with a sad little smile. "Now we can go to bed," she whispers, before walking off to a bed. I join her, and as she snuggles up against me, I wrap an arm around her.

"Peter?" She says, cautiously and silently, about twenty minutes later.

"Hm?"

"I...I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"I'm scared that my friends might get hurt..."

I pat her on the shoulder. "Everything will be fine, Rainbow. Trust me."

"How do you know?" She challenges. I think for a few moments before I respond.

"I don't. But I trust that Princess Celestia will keep them safe. You've just got to trust her, okay?"

Rainbow Dash sighs, and nuzzles up against my chest. "Alright, Peter...I'll try. But I make no promises."

I chuckle lightly, and kiss her on the forehead, and closing my eyes, listening to her soft breathing as I wait for sleep to take hold.

As it finally does, I descend into the darkness of my dreams, and of my darker counterpart.

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